Posted By Brit Liggett On November 22, 2010 @ 10:30 am In Air quality,global warming | No Comments

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In Mexico City earlier this morning, the mayors of the world[2] made a pact to address climate change[3] and we could not be more thrilled. The leaders of 135 global cities put their pens to the agreement, which sets up a monitoring and verification mechanism for them to address climate related issues[3] facing the Earth. With over half of the world’s population living in urban areas[4] for the first time in history, people in densely populated areas have unprecedented power to throw at contemporary environmental issues — and with 135 cities signed up, this pact is leading us forward together in the right direction.

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“Today, the cities meeting here are taking action to reduce harmful greenhouse emissions through their commitment to the Mexico City Pact,” said Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of the Mexico City and chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. Though a worldwide consensus has been difficult to come by thus far — not even coming out of the Copenhagen 15 conference[6] with an agreement on how to address the problem. Perhaps the mayors of the world can push the rest of Earth’s policy makers into making sense of what we are facing.

The conference not only focused on coming together to work to solve the problem but also on how to address issues of funding and distribution of information. The mayors came out of the summit agreeing that sharing the wealth with countries unable to provide their own is critical. They also noted in their agreement that the money allocated to fight climate change[3] should be centralized on local governments, not national ones. “If financial resources become available through transfers from developed to developing countries, a significant portion of these monies should be passed through to cities and local governments to implement local climate programs,” Ebrard said. The mayors will present the pact to United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change later this month in Cancun, Mexico.